According to the original plot, when Xu Qiuchi was about to be forced to drink drugged wine, the Protagonist, Ye Feng, would appear 'just in time', knock down a dozen thugs with his martial arts, and play the hero saving the beauty.
However, because Xu Qiuchi chose a booth in the most secluded corner of the bar, Shen Che searched almost everywhere before finally finding her.
At this critical moment, Shen Che finally found the booth in the corner, surrounded by several people.
Among this group, he immediately saw the woman surrounded by the thugs—it was Xu Qiuchi.
Even though he was mentally prepared, knowing she was a beauty described with great detail in the original text, seeing her in person, the impact was still far beyond imagination.
Under the lights, her flushed cheeks were tinged with intoxication, which only made her features more picturesque and her skin whiter than snow.
That breathtaking beauty was enough to make anyone hold their breath.
Shen Che instantly understood why the original host had been infatuated for over a decade, asking after her well-being daily—it was no wonder he was so obsessed with such a beautiful woman.
However, the astonishment was only for a moment.
A warning bell rang in Shen Che's mind: he must act immediately! He absolutely could not let Ye Feng appear and successfully trigger the plot!
With thoughts racing, he strode quickly towards the booth, and before the crowd could react, he had already swept in like a gust of wind.
His sharp gaze swept over the chaotic scene, and he unhesitatingly grabbed the thickest bottle of wine on the table.
The bottle was cold and heavy, reflecting a dangerous glint under the psychedelic lights.
Shen Che's five fingers tightened, and all his strength instantly poured into his right arm.
Without the slightest hesitation, he swung his arm, and the wine bottle, accompanied by the sound of rushing wind, smashed down hard on Cuntou Nan's back of the head.
"Bang—Crash!"
A deafening explosion rang out!
The thick wine bottle shattered under the immense force, and glass shards sprayed out like shrapnel.
A strong smell of wine mixed with a pungent scent of blood instantly filled the air.
Cuntou Nan felt his vision go black, seeing stars, and then a searing pain erupted from the back of his head.
He let out a tragic wail, his hands instinctively clutching his wound, and sticky, warm blood instantly stained his fingers, dripping onto the floor.
He staggered back, turning to see Shen Che standing behind him with an expressionless face, holding only the sharp neck of the bottle; under the lights, that handsome face actually revealed a hint of ruthlessness.
"Damn you! Xiao Bai Lian! How dare you ambush me?!"
Cuntou Nan's eyes were bloodshot, and the intense pain and humiliation filled him with rage, "Trying to play the hero saving the beauty?! You're fucking looking for death!"
Seeing Shen Che alone and refined, Cuntou Nan was even more enraged, clutching his head and roaring:
"Are you all fucking blind?! Get him! Cripple him! I'm going to personally scratch up his face!"
The stunned thugs around him were jolted awake and immediately cursed as they surrounded him:
"Damn it! You're tired of living, aren't you!"
"Acting like a fucking hero! Kill him!"
Just as the thugs lunged at Shen Che, two agile figures pounced into the fray like fierce tigers—they were the two retired special forces bodyguards Shen Che had brought!
"Young Master!" one of them growled, and before his voice faded, his fists and feet were already in motion.
The two thugs who rushed to the front didn't even let out a grunt before being cleanly and decisively knocked to the ground.
The remaining thugs, in their shock, pulled out gleaming daggers, attempting to fight desperately.
But in the face of an absolute disparity in strength, resistance was futile.
The bodyguards moved swiftly and precisely, their punches landing with force, their kicks whistling through the air, and within a few breaths, the remaining thugs lay sprawled on the ground, groaning repeatedly, completely losing their combat ability.
"Apologies, Young Master, we were late," one bodyguard said in a deep voice, his tone tinged with self-reproach.
"No, just right," Shen Che said calmly, his gaze sharply sweeping over the entire scene.
Seeing all his subordinates knocked down, Cuntou Nan was scared out of his wits, his mind a complete blank.
The will to survive instantly overshadowed everything; he jolted, struggled to his feet, and stumbled towards the stairs to the second floor, almost tripping midway.
"You…you all just wait for me!" He threw down this outwardly fierce but inwardly timid threat, his figure disappearing awkwardly around the stairwell.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
"Shen Che? What are you doing here?"
Xu Qiuchi looked at the man who suddenly appeared with blurred, drunken eyes, her intoxication instantly dissipating a bit—she hadn't told anyone her whereabouts tonight!
"That's what I should be asking you..." Shen Che frowned, his gaze sweeping over her flushed cheeks, unsteady steps, and strong smell of alcohol, his tone clearly impatient.
Xu Qiuchi was startled.
This tone... Shen Che?
He dared to speak to her with such an attitude?
In her memory, when was he not cautious, humble, and eager to please?
Today, however, he seemed like a different person.
"None of your business!" The alcohol burned her nerves, and she blurted out.
Immediately, a thought struck her like lightning, and she pointed at the mess around her as if suddenly enlightened, her voice rising with excitement: "I get it! It's such a 'coincidence' to run into hooligans, and such a 'coincidence' for you to descend from the heavens... Shen Che, your self-directed and self-acted hero-saving-the-beauty trick is too old-fashioned and too despicable!"
"What did you say?!"
Shen Che's anger flared up.
A ridiculous cold laugh echoed in his mind: In the original book, when that scoundrel Ye Feng pulled this stunt, you were tearfully grateful, offering him money and a job! Now that it's my turn to come to the bar to save the day, you see it as a trick? Damn it, that cursed Protagonist Halo, and a blind female lead!
"Stop pretending to be foolish," Xu Qiuchi, fueled by alcohol, poured out all her accumulated dissatisfaction, "Shen Che, don't think that by doing this, I'll change my opinion of you, or that it will make me look at you differently."
Shen Che's lips curved into a highly mocking arc: Change her opinion? Do I care? If I wasn't afraid that idiot Ye Feng would cause trouble for me because of the engagement, I would have kicked you as far away as possible long ago!
"I don't care about your change of opinion," his voice was cold, revealing complete detachment, "Just because I am your fiancé in name right now, if you cause a scandal, both the Shen and Xu Families will lose face because of you. I came only to preserve the Family's reputation, nothing more."
"Shen Che! I can tell you, I don't like you at all, and I hate your damn engagement!"
Fueled by the alcohol, Xu Qiuchi loudly spoke her mind.
"Perfect," Shen Che shrugged, his tone more indifferent and casual than ever, as if speaking of a trivial matter, "Since you don't like it, then let's just cancel it."
"What?!" Xu Qiuchi's eyes widened abruptly, suspecting she was hallucinating from the alcohol.
She would never believe that Shen Che, who had been infatuated with her for over a decade, could say such a thing.
The man before her, from his demeanor to his tone, had become so unfamiliar.